Care notes

Washing a knit hat without losing its shape

Most of what we knit asks for a hand wash, and that is not us being precious. Hot water and a spinning drum are what turn a snug ribbed band into a loose one.

Cool water and a small amount of soap

Fill a sink with cool water and add a drop of gentle soap. Not a capful. Yarn holds soap far better than it lets it go, and the stiff feel people blame on the wool is usually detergent that never rinsed out.

Put the hat in and press the water through it with your palm for a minute or two. There is no need to rub the yarn against itself. Dirt in a beanie sits mostly in the band where it touched your forehead, so give that part the attention.

Press the water out, do not wring it

Lift the hat out with both hands so it does not hang by one edge. Wet yarn is heavy, and hanging a soaked beanie by its brim is how the band grows a size.

Lay it on a dry towel, roll the towel up loosely and press along the roll. Unroll and you will find most of the water has moved into the towel. Twisting does the same job faster and leaves a crease you cannot knit back out.

Dry it flat, away from the radiator

Reshape the hat with your fingers while it is damp, then leave it flat on a fresh towel. Ribbing dries in the shape you leave it in, so smooth the band out to the width you want it to be.

Keep it off the radiator and out of the dryer. Heat is what makes wool fibres lock together, and once a knit has felted there is no step that brings it back.

Between seasons

Store cold-weather knits folded flat rather than hung. A hanger pulls a scarf out of shape over a summer, and a beanie stretched over a hook keeps the shape of the hook.

If you are putting a set away, fold the gloves inside the hat so the pair stays together. Every October someone finds one glove and blames us.